Further analysis on freedom of information in Indonesia: A case study of the public information disclosure in West Java Province

Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 9, Issue: 1, pp. 5-15

Date: July 2018

ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic)

Abstract This article seeks to further assess freedom of information (FOI) in Indonesia by qualitatively analyzing its implementation in West Java Province. In a relatively young democratic state, the Indonesian parliament ratified the FOI law in 2008 responding to the ongoing democratization process. Nevertheless, the implementation of the law still suffers some problems, both legally and politically. Ratification and the enactment of the FOI law cannot necessarily be sufficient to guarantee the embodiment of a really open government unless there is a shifting paradigm in local bureaucracy, political commitment from local leaders, and people’s and press awareness of the ability to access public information.

Keywords: Freedom of Information; Open Government; Policy Implementation; Democratization; Indonesia